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The Living Force
Ukrainian serviceman released from prison in Donbass with Patriarch Kirill’s mediation
http://tass.com/world/920294
December 18, 2016 - A Ukrainian serviceman, Taras Kolodiy, who has been kept prisoner in Donbass for two years, was released on Sunday through the mediation of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarchate’s press service said.
"On December 18, Ukrainian serviceman Taras Kolodiy, who had been taken prisoner during combat operations, was released in Donetsk. He was released to the Ukrainian side at the Yelenovka-Volnovakha checkpoint. His live and health are out of danger," the press service said.
The man was released without any preliminary conditions.
According to the press service, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill was asked to help release the man by Metropolitan Onufriy of Kiev and All Ukraine after the serviceman’s relatives had asked for his assistance. "His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia upheld the plea of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy and contacted people who could solve that matter," the press service said.
"Taras Kolodiy’s release is the result of the Church’s peacekeeping efforts towards the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine and proves the high authority of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," the press service said.
The Russian Orthodox Church "is raising its prayers to put an end to the fratricidal confrontation in Ukraine" and stands for the release of "people kept by both parties to the conflict."
"The moral authority of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church which unites the Ukrainian on both sides of the confrontation is a real tool that might promote national reconciliation in Ukraine," the Moscow Patriarchate said.
LPR militias: Kiev forces fire over 150 shells near Kalinovka village
http://tass.com/world/920335
December 19, 2016 - Ukraine’s forces backed by artillery attempted an offensive near the Kalinovka village, firing more than 150 artillery shells at the positions of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, the LPR defense authorities said on Sunday.
"The main attempt of offensive was made by a unit of Ukraine’s Armed Forces consisting of some 40 people with military hardware near the Kalinovka settlement. The attack was carried out with the support of mortars and artillery weapons from which more than 150 shells were fired at the people’s militia positions," an official told the LuganskInformCenter.
Earlier on Sunday, ten Ukrainian troops were killed and some 20 others were wounded during the offensive attempt. Two LPR servicemen were wounded and two more are missing.
The participants of the Contact Group on settlement in eastern Ukraine at the meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on August 26 declared an indefinite ceasefire in Donbass starting from September 1. This was the ninth attempt since autumn 2014 to observe the silence regime in the region. However, the shellings continue.
Sudden Ukrainian offensive in Lugansk ends in heavy losses, retreat
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/sudden-ukrainian-offensive-in-lugansk.html
The attack has been halted, but firefights are ongoing. The attack was presumably being led by neo-Nazi volunteer battalions.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the residential area of Kalinovka near Debaltsevo 150 times with artillery prohibited by the Minsk Agreements before attempting to break through the defense positions of the Lugansk People’s Militia.
The head of the directorate of the LPR’s People’s Militia, Oleg Anashchenko, has reported from the scene of the battle: “UAF attempts to break through the defenses of the LPR in the Kalinovka and Logvinovo districts have ended in failure. Over the course of the poorly planned attempt at breaking through in the direction of Kalinovka, the enemy has suffered heavy losses and returned to its original positions to regroup forces, replenish its losses, and prepare for active combat operations. All attempts to penetrate our defenses have ended in complete failure for Kiev’s punitive forces.”
According to Ukrainian sources, five Ukrainian troops were killed and 26 were wounded. Reports have since come in that more than 35 have been wounded, most being evacuated to the military hospital while others could not be withdrawn from the battlefield due to intense artillery fire. Ukrainian volunteer Yurii Mysyagin from Dnepropetrovsk has suggested that the number of dead has risen to six. The official "Anti-Terrorist Operation" headquarters has released significantly lower figures, counting only five dead and six wounded.
Earlier, the Lugansk People’s Militia claimed that “no fewer than 30 of Kiev’s troops have been killed and no less than two armored vehicles have been destroyed.”
Several sources on both the Ukrainian and Donbass sides have suggested that the sudden Ukrainian offensive could have been connected to internal squabbles, namely, the Ukrainian state’s acquiring of the infamous oligarch Igor Kolomoysky’s Privatbank, Ukraine’s largest commercial credit institution.
Kolomoisky's Privatbank passes to Ukrainian government ownership
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/kolomoiskys-privatbank-passes-to.html
The Government of Ukraine has supported the proposal of the National Bank and the Financial Stability Board for the transition Privatbank to hundred percent state ownership. This was reported on the website of the Cabinet.
It is envisaged that the state, represented by the Ministry of Finance, will own 100 percent of the shares of Privatbank, and will guarantee the smooth functioning of the institution and preservation of assets of its clients.
National Bank Chairman Valery Gontareva and Finance Minister Alexander Danyluk informed the cabinet members that the private shareholders of Privatbank appealed to the government with a proposal that the government become full owner, in the interests of the bank's clients.
The transition period begins on December 19. The government has promised to ensure "a smooth transition with stable and normal operation of the institution for its customers."
It is noted that these actions are "taking place in coordination with international financial institutions and with their support." "In the government they are proceeding on the fact that this is the responsible decision to preserve Privatbank, and the entire banking system."
On October 16 Ukrainian media reported that the businessman Igor Kolomoisky and other shareholders have agreed to transfer Privatbank to the government after December 20. It was noted that the NBU forced the nationalization process, with the support of the presidential administration and the International Monetary Fund. At the same time Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman spoke against such a scenario, in connection with which the nationalization of the bank by the end of 2016 was called into question.
Prior to that, in October, it was reported that Privatbank, if it did not comply with a program of recapitalization, could be subject to nationalization. Then the plans of the Cabinet to complete the process within two weeks became known.
In August, the Pechersk Regional Court in Kiev accused officials of Privatbank of embezzling 19 billion hryvnia (about 765 million dollars) which had been allocated to refinancing.
Last year, the German periodical Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten suggested that Kolomoisky could arrogate part of the IMF's financial assistance aimed for the development of the Ukrainian economy.
Privatbank is the largest Ukrainian commercial credit institution. The bank serves 22 million customers.
Journalist Patrick Lancaster harassed by FBI
http://novorossia.today/fbi-pays-visit-well-known-american-journalist-patrick-lancasters-mother-united-states/
18.12.2016 ~ A freelance journalist from the United States, Patrick Lancaster, well-known in Donbass, was subjected to the FBI harassment. Intelligence agents paid a visit to his mother who lives in the United States, in an attempt to find out where he was and what he was doing. He wrote about it on his page in the social network Vkontakte.
‘The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) is investigating me.
My mother just informed me that FBI agents came to her home. She said they told her there is no need for concern and then asked her very open questions about me. If she knew where I was? What I was doing there? What my job was? and How I got there? Etc. She told them I was a freelance journalist & for the past three years I had been reporting on the situation in the Crimea and covering the Ukraine War in Donbass. She told them that my reports have been unbiased and that Ukraine was not happy about my reports. She told them my Youtube channel, and that they called me. She gave them my number. They have not called. This was a very big surprise to me. I never thought in a million years that my mother would tell me the FBI came asking about me. The FBI going to question a journalist’s mother seems like they could be trying to intimidate that journalist, we will see. I am looking forward to speaking to them and getting more information on why they are investigating me. I have called them and now awaiting a response.
http://tass.com/world/920294
December 18, 2016 - A Ukrainian serviceman, Taras Kolodiy, who has been kept prisoner in Donbass for two years, was released on Sunday through the mediation of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarchate’s press service said.
"On December 18, Ukrainian serviceman Taras Kolodiy, who had been taken prisoner during combat operations, was released in Donetsk. He was released to the Ukrainian side at the Yelenovka-Volnovakha checkpoint. His live and health are out of danger," the press service said.
The man was released without any preliminary conditions.
According to the press service, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill was asked to help release the man by Metropolitan Onufriy of Kiev and All Ukraine after the serviceman’s relatives had asked for his assistance. "His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia upheld the plea of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy and contacted people who could solve that matter," the press service said.
"Taras Kolodiy’s release is the result of the Church’s peacekeeping efforts towards the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine and proves the high authority of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," the press service said.
The Russian Orthodox Church "is raising its prayers to put an end to the fratricidal confrontation in Ukraine" and stands for the release of "people kept by both parties to the conflict."
"The moral authority of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church which unites the Ukrainian on both sides of the confrontation is a real tool that might promote national reconciliation in Ukraine," the Moscow Patriarchate said.
LPR militias: Kiev forces fire over 150 shells near Kalinovka village
http://tass.com/world/920335
December 19, 2016 - Ukraine’s forces backed by artillery attempted an offensive near the Kalinovka village, firing more than 150 artillery shells at the positions of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, the LPR defense authorities said on Sunday.
"The main attempt of offensive was made by a unit of Ukraine’s Armed Forces consisting of some 40 people with military hardware near the Kalinovka settlement. The attack was carried out with the support of mortars and artillery weapons from which more than 150 shells were fired at the people’s militia positions," an official told the LuganskInformCenter.
Earlier on Sunday, ten Ukrainian troops were killed and some 20 others were wounded during the offensive attempt. Two LPR servicemen were wounded and two more are missing.
The participants of the Contact Group on settlement in eastern Ukraine at the meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on August 26 declared an indefinite ceasefire in Donbass starting from September 1. This was the ninth attempt since autumn 2014 to observe the silence regime in the region. However, the shellings continue.
Sudden Ukrainian offensive in Lugansk ends in heavy losses, retreat
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/sudden-ukrainian-offensive-in-lugansk.html
The attack has been halted, but firefights are ongoing. The attack was presumably being led by neo-Nazi volunteer battalions.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the residential area of Kalinovka near Debaltsevo 150 times with artillery prohibited by the Minsk Agreements before attempting to break through the defense positions of the Lugansk People’s Militia.
The head of the directorate of the LPR’s People’s Militia, Oleg Anashchenko, has reported from the scene of the battle: “UAF attempts to break through the defenses of the LPR in the Kalinovka and Logvinovo districts have ended in failure. Over the course of the poorly planned attempt at breaking through in the direction of Kalinovka, the enemy has suffered heavy losses and returned to its original positions to regroup forces, replenish its losses, and prepare for active combat operations. All attempts to penetrate our defenses have ended in complete failure for Kiev’s punitive forces.”
According to Ukrainian sources, five Ukrainian troops were killed and 26 were wounded. Reports have since come in that more than 35 have been wounded, most being evacuated to the military hospital while others could not be withdrawn from the battlefield due to intense artillery fire. Ukrainian volunteer Yurii Mysyagin from Dnepropetrovsk has suggested that the number of dead has risen to six. The official "Anti-Terrorist Operation" headquarters has released significantly lower figures, counting only five dead and six wounded.
Earlier, the Lugansk People’s Militia claimed that “no fewer than 30 of Kiev’s troops have been killed and no less than two armored vehicles have been destroyed.”
Several sources on both the Ukrainian and Donbass sides have suggested that the sudden Ukrainian offensive could have been connected to internal squabbles, namely, the Ukrainian state’s acquiring of the infamous oligarch Igor Kolomoysky’s Privatbank, Ukraine’s largest commercial credit institution.
Kolomoisky's Privatbank passes to Ukrainian government ownership
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/kolomoiskys-privatbank-passes-to.html
The Government of Ukraine has supported the proposal of the National Bank and the Financial Stability Board for the transition Privatbank to hundred percent state ownership. This was reported on the website of the Cabinet.
It is envisaged that the state, represented by the Ministry of Finance, will own 100 percent of the shares of Privatbank, and will guarantee the smooth functioning of the institution and preservation of assets of its clients.
National Bank Chairman Valery Gontareva and Finance Minister Alexander Danyluk informed the cabinet members that the private shareholders of Privatbank appealed to the government with a proposal that the government become full owner, in the interests of the bank's clients.
The transition period begins on December 19. The government has promised to ensure "a smooth transition with stable and normal operation of the institution for its customers."
It is noted that these actions are "taking place in coordination with international financial institutions and with their support." "In the government they are proceeding on the fact that this is the responsible decision to preserve Privatbank, and the entire banking system."
On October 16 Ukrainian media reported that the businessman Igor Kolomoisky and other shareholders have agreed to transfer Privatbank to the government after December 20. It was noted that the NBU forced the nationalization process, with the support of the presidential administration and the International Monetary Fund. At the same time Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman spoke against such a scenario, in connection with which the nationalization of the bank by the end of 2016 was called into question.
Prior to that, in October, it was reported that Privatbank, if it did not comply with a program of recapitalization, could be subject to nationalization. Then the plans of the Cabinet to complete the process within two weeks became known.
In August, the Pechersk Regional Court in Kiev accused officials of Privatbank of embezzling 19 billion hryvnia (about 765 million dollars) which had been allocated to refinancing.
Last year, the German periodical Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten suggested that Kolomoisky could arrogate part of the IMF's financial assistance aimed for the development of the Ukrainian economy.
Privatbank is the largest Ukrainian commercial credit institution. The bank serves 22 million customers.
Journalist Patrick Lancaster harassed by FBI
http://novorossia.today/fbi-pays-visit-well-known-american-journalist-patrick-lancasters-mother-united-states/
18.12.2016 ~ A freelance journalist from the United States, Patrick Lancaster, well-known in Donbass, was subjected to the FBI harassment. Intelligence agents paid a visit to his mother who lives in the United States, in an attempt to find out where he was and what he was doing. He wrote about it on his page in the social network Vkontakte.
‘The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) is investigating me.
My mother just informed me that FBI agents came to her home. She said they told her there is no need for concern and then asked her very open questions about me. If she knew where I was? What I was doing there? What my job was? and How I got there? Etc. She told them I was a freelance journalist & for the past three years I had been reporting on the situation in the Crimea and covering the Ukraine War in Donbass. She told them that my reports have been unbiased and that Ukraine was not happy about my reports. She told them my Youtube channel, and that they called me. She gave them my number. They have not called. This was a very big surprise to me. I never thought in a million years that my mother would tell me the FBI came asking about me. The FBI going to question a journalist’s mother seems like they could be trying to intimidate that journalist, we will see. I am looking forward to speaking to them and getting more information on why they are investigating me. I have called them and now awaiting a response.
